A woman from Whitley who was declared brain dead just days after giving birth to her third son suffered from an underlying heart problem, an inquest heard.

Kate Newman, 33, of Brayford Road, collapsed at Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) on Tuesday, April 19, after giving birth to her youngest son the day before by an elective caesarean.

She was declared brain dead on Wednesday, April 20, before her life support machine was switched off the following day.

An inquest into her death at the Civic Centre on Tuesday heard that Mrs Newman lost her life as a result of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), described as an “electrical disturbance” that causes the heart to stop working.

Berkshire coroner Peter Bedford read a series of reports from medical staff who worked on the RBH’s Marsh Ward at the time of Mrs Newman’s collapse.

The inquest heard how midwife Vicki Howie had spoken to Mrs Newman on the afternoon of April 19, seconds before she heard “loud banging sounds” and came away from treating another patient to find that she was on the floor as though she had “fainted”.

The midwife raised the alarm and she was given assistance by a range of specialists to help Mrs Newman who seemed “confused”.

Staff also saw blood which they believed to be a blood clot that she had passed.

Another midwife suggested that Mrs Newman’s blood pressure had dropped and maternity staff stood back while a crash team transferred Mrs Newman, who suffered a total of four cardiac arrests, to the intensive care unit (ICU).

The coroner read a statement from Dr David Mossop, a consultant in intensive care medicine, who oversaw her care in ICU where Mrs Newman continued to bleed heavily.

At 2.30am on the morning of April 20, Dr Mossop transferred Mrs Newman to the operating theatre to undergo an emergency hysterectomy to stop the bleeding.

The surgery was unsuccessful and Mrs Newman continued to require blood transfusions.

It was later discovered that her pupils were unresponsive and that she was brain stem dead.

Shortly after 9pm the following day, Mrs Newman flatlined and her ventilator was switched off.

She left behind her husband Isaac Opoku and two sons. Another son had died within a week of being born in 2010.

Professor Sebastian Lucas, from St Thomas’s Hospital in London, carried out the post mortem examination and found that acute cardiac failure, or SADS, led to her death.

He said: “This is a syndrome that we’ve increasingly recognised over the last decade.

“We don’t know why but we know how it’s nothing to do with having a baby, nursing care or the possibility of banging her head on the floor.

“This is the heart simply going into arrythmia – a very fast pulse. The heart does not work and then you pass out.”

Professor Lucas was supported by Dr Tim Parke, from RBH, when he ruled out any other cause of death.

The coroner said that Mrs Newman’s death was an “absolute tragedy” before recording a narrative verdict.

Mr Bedford said: “The cause of death was from acute cardiac failure caused by SADS and this followed the remarkable birth of Kate’s third child on April 18.”